On Tuesday we seized a nice day and woke up early to make our way to Haleakala, Maui's 10,000ft tall volcano. If you're not expecting it, you arrive at the top feeling like you've landed on Mars. Despite having been on top of many higher mountains, we can’t think of a time we've ever ascended quite so far so fast (in a car). We parked at the 8,000ft level and walked over to the 'hiker pick up area', Hawaii's form of sanctioned hitch hiking. The best trail in the summit area is a 'loop' trail that begins in one spot and ends in another. We were waiting with another couple and got lucky when a pickup truck came by just after we arrived and let all 4 of us hop in the back. It made for great views on the last 2,000ft of the drive. We started on the Sliding Sands trail, which descends 3,000ft into the crater in a virtual moonscape. The weather was warm and perfectly breezy and the trail was surprisingly deserted.
After dropping down into the center of the crater we dropped into the lush east side of the mountain and then began a steady climb back out to our car up a steep face. We hit some clouds at this point, which seems to be an almost constant reality on the mountain that makes its own weather. Along the way we saw a bunch of Silversword plants, which are only found in the Crater of Haleakala. They grow for 50 years, bloom once, and the die. Overall it was a great hike, beautiful, unique, and a good adventure.
